Hello everyone. Zak here from the Soutlands, here with another Warhammer 40k rules post.
As you may or may not know, I have been doing reviews of individual Warhammer 40k Datasheets. I am now up to 91 Datasheet Reviews, but there is still a LOT of content to cover as Army Rules and Detachment Rules come in to play and this shapes the army building and gaming experience of that army. Check more in this post - Warhammer 40k - Army Rule Review Series!.
So without further preamble... the Astra Militarum Army Rule review:
Who are the Astra Militarum?
Basically, they are the standard, mortal and unmodified humans of Warhammer 40,000 that have been trained into massive Regiments that leave their home world and are sent by the Government institutions of the Imperium to wage war in many places.
They are used for Defense to protect a world and free it of invaders but also for Attack to take a world back from the enemies of the Imperium.
Worlds actually have a garrison of troops called a Planetary Defence Force, which stay on a world. Astra Militarum Regiments are an Imperial Tithe to the Emperor. An offering and an honour to raise an army to send out into space to do service to the Emperor and further the goals of mankind!
Astra Militarum armies come from a million different worlds with many armies of renown being known all over the Imperium: Cadian Shock Troops, Catachan Jungle Fighters, Death Corps of Krieg, Valhallan Ice Warriors and Tallarn Desert Raiders to name but a few.
You can also create your own lore for a Regiment. The Imperium owns an uncountable number of worlds with every level of technological progression you can think of. From savage barbarians from tribal nations to mechanized and technologically-enhanced armies allied closely to the Adeptus Mechanicus, there is a style for everyone!
Army Rule - Voice of Command
A unifying aspect of the Regiments of the Astra Militarum is that they have leaders, regardless of world-specific titles, a Regiment is led by a Colonel or his equivalent.
Models/Units with the Officer keyword can issue Commands.
How many commands they can issue per turn and to whom, is specified on their datasheet. We have reviewed one Officer so far, the Tank Commander who can issue orders only to "Squadron" units which are vehicles.
Commands are issued during the Command Phase or after an Officer Disembarks from a Transport, or appears on the battlefield from a another location. That last bit means Reserves. That means at the end of the movement phase.
Unless otherwise stated, new orders supercede other order and you cannot give one unit more than one order.
A Unit that is Battle-shocked loses the bonuses of the Order. These bonuses stay on the unit until the start of the next Command Phase.
Generally Infantry Officers can use Voice of Command and issue orders to unit within 6", while Tank Commanders and do the same at 12", Command Squads with a Master Vox allows the Officer to issue an Order up to 24" away.
Orders - list of orders that can be issued
Move! Move! Move!
Add 3" to the Movement Characteristic of a unit.
Fix Bayonets!
Add +1 Weapon Skill to Melee Weapons
Take Aim!
Add +1 Ballistic Skill to Ranged Weapons
Take Cover!
Improve Save Characteristic of a unit by 1, to a maximum of 3+
First Rank, Fire!, Second Rank, Fire!
Rapid Fire Weapons get +1 Attack.
Duty and Honour!
+1 Leadership and +1 Objective control
Thoughts
With an Officer being able to issue an Order after disembarking, it means feasibly that one Officer could Order a unit in the Command Phase to Move! Move! Move! and gain 3" movement, then the disembarking Officer could then target the same unit with another Order.
The new order would remove the effects of the first one, but they had already moved, so it does not matter.
The Movement Buff is amazing at drawing these soldiers away from threats, it si like getting a 3" Advance but not counting as Advancing. This is also great for pushing these units on top of objectives early in the game or even to claim objectives that are just too far away. You could Advance as well... meaning a 6" Move, 3" Order, Plus D6" of Advancing... this is some super-human speeds!
The Weapons Skill and Ballistic Skill buffs also make regular Guard units Hit like Space Marines at their accuracy, temporarily boosting key units.
Usually, Tank Commanders are using "Take Aim!" on other tanks for that 3+ to hit.
"Take Cover" somehow works in close combat as well and it is very much like a Space Marine using Armor of Contempt to make squads last longer. However... it has its limits. Most Guard units have a 5+ Save, boosting it to 4+ and getting the benefit of cover might make them last against shooting really well.
But being hit by AP-1 in combat and then reversing that reduction to armor is not really worth it in my opinion.
And then there is Duty and Honour. A bedraggled unit of 6 Guardsmen gets +1 to Leadership and is more likely to pass the Battleshock test. 6 Guardsmen are OC2 each for 12, with Duty and Honour they get +1 OC for a total of 18OC. All of a sudden, the Militarum take control of an objective where you thought they did not have enough manpower to do so!
And there we have it! Our first Army Rule Review done!
I hope you enjoyed it!
Cheers!
@zakludick
